Improvement in droppers for harvesters



mann serresy PATENT union.

a. L. rnfrnus Ann (3.1M. rnrnns,'or LANcAsrn-n, onto. Y

IMPROVEMENT IN DROPPERS FOR HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 84,133, dated November17, 1868.

.To all whom it may concern Beit linorvnthative, A. L. PETERS and G. M.PETERS', both of Lancaster, county of Fairfield, and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Droppers orDischargingPlatfoIms for Harvesters and We do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecication, in Wl1ich- Figure l is a perspective view of aharvesting-machine, taken from the front grain-corner of the machine, andshowing, in black and red liu es,the receiving and dischargingpositionsof the platform and cut-off. Fig. 2 is an inverted planor bottom view ofthe same; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are detached views of parts of themachine, hereinafter described.

Similar letters of reference, denote corre-l sponding parts in all thefigures.

The object of the various constructions of droppers in use has been toeffect the discharge of the cut grain deposited upon the platform of themachine by the operation or movement of said platform itself, in suchmanner as to dispense with the complicated and frequently cumbrousmechanism consequent upon the employment of the vvarious raking'attachment-s in use. The platform itself is, of

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course, indispensable to either process; and if such platform can bemadeto accomplish both functions-viz., that of receiving 4and holdingthe grain until a suicient quantity to form a gavel or sheaf` hasaccumulated thereon, and then of discharging it in compact form on theground-the advantage of such construction would be obvious, for, asidefrom the great additional weight of the machine provided with any of thevarious raking attachments in use, the vexatious delays to whichfarmers, in the hurry of the grain-harvest, are subjected by thedisarrangement or breakage of parts of the complicated machineryusuallyr employed to drive these raking attachments, and which it isfrequently beyond the skill ofthe farmer and the reach of themanufacturer to remedy, are such as often to lead the farmer to regardthem as of doubtfulutility, and to cause many, in preference to beingsubjected thereto, to dispense with them, and to depend entirely uponthe reliable but more laborious process of discharging the grain byhand.

The simplicity of the operation of discharging the grain by the simplemovement or tilting of the platform, on the other hand, is such as topredispose the farmer to regard it with favor, and many attempts haveconsequently been made to so construct and operate the platform'as todispense with the usual process of raking off the gra-in therefrom. Inthese droppin g-platforms, as ordinarily constructed, after a quantityof grain sufficient to form a gavel had accumulated thereon, saidplatform was made to vibrate upon a xed pivot or shaft, arranged in lineparallel with the fingerbar of the machine, until it was sufficientlyinclined to the rear to cause the grain to slide oftl upon the groundbehind the cutting appa1 4ratus and platform, and directly in the pathof the team and machine on the next round,

and the grain had to be bound and removed as fast as it was cut, therebynecessitating the employment of a larger forcev than would otherwisehave been necessary, or it was liable to be run over and trampled uponin such manner as to cause great Waste o f the grain.

Attempts have been made to construct a dropper which Would effect thedischarge of l the gra-in upon one side, at a point out of the Way ofthe machine on the next round; but in all of these with which We areacquainted the opera-tion was not performed and the discharge of thegrain was not effected in such manner Aas to warrant their adoption bymanufacturers or meet the approval of the farming community.

The object of our invention is to effect the delivery of the grain bythe movements of the platform itself, in such manner as to leave thegrain deposited upon the ground in a neat and compact form for bindinguntil properly cured, and out of the Way of the team and machine on thenext round, whereby the waste consequent upon the usual modes ofdischarging the grain by the movement of Vthe platform is avoided; andthis object, it is believed, is fully attained by this invention, thenature ofwhich Will be understood from the following description,reference being had to the drawings, in Which- A represents theplatform, composed, in this instance, of a number of light slats orrods, a, arranged in rea-r of the cutting apparatus, and in linesparallel with the path of the machine,

though, if preferred, any other construction, y such as a solidplatform, or one composed of slats lying parallel with the nger-bar, maybe employed 5 but, for the purpose of lightness andeasydischarge of thegrain, we prefer the arrangement shown. These slats are secured, attheir forward end, to a bar arranged in aline parallel with thenger-bar, and the platform thus constructed is pivoted or hin ged, onits under surface and at a point forward of its center, to aplatform-bar, B, as shown in Fig. 2, also in red lines, Fig. 1.

The bar B is provided on its forward edge with a series of teeth, b,which project upward in front of the platform when the latter is inposition to receive the grain, and while it is being moved to its pointof discharge, said teeth,(only a few of which are shown) extendingtheentire width of the platform, and serving to hold the grain properlythereon until the platform is tilted to discharge it.

The bar B is supported upon the ends of two parallel arms, C C', and isconnected thereto bymeans of vertical. pivots, and the opposite ends ofarms C C are pivoted in like manner to horizontal lugs onthe finger-bar,or bar and shoe, in such manner as to allow said arms to vibrate freelythereon, and to operate like the links of a parallel rule, so as to vallow the platform to vibrate inthe arc of a circle froml a position inrear of the cutting apparatus to one in rear of the main frame of themachine. (Shown in red lines, Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.)

In the drawings, Fig. 3, we have shown the inner supporting ear or lugformed on the shoe or heel-extension thereof and made in the form of acam or ,inclined plane, so that as the platform is .swung outward to itsposition behind the frame it will be slightly raised, sufficiently togive it ample room to be so tilted as to quickly and effectively dump ordischarge the "W grain, and to permit its return 'to its position toreceive the grain without `dan ger of being obstructed by the surfaceover which the machine is drawn. f A f An angular extension, c, of oneor both the arms C C projects underneath a metallic bar or rib on theunder side of the platform, and serves to hold the platform in properposition to receive the grain until said platform reaches its point ofdischarge behind the main frame, when the withdrawal of said extensionby the movement of the arm, as represented in Fig. 2, allows theplatform to tilt and discharge the grain; and as the platform startsback to receive another gavel said extension is pressed back underneaththe rib a2, and the platform s adgain raised to receive and retainanother The inner parallel link or arm, Cf, has formed upon or attachedto it a lshort perforated arml or lug, D, to which one end of a pitman,E, is connected, the opposite end of said pitm an being slotted, asshown at c, and embracing a crank, F, on the inner end of the main drivewheel aXle4 Gr.

The platform is vibrated back and forth by this means, and the slot inthe pitman allows it to rest at each end of its stroke sufficiently longto Vproperly receive the gavel and allow for its discharge.

The crank-arm is connected with the axle by a clutch, and is placedunder the control of the opera-tor by means of a shipping-lever, H.

It will be apparent that while the platform is removed and is beingoperated to discharge the gavel, it fis necessary to make some provisionto receive and hold the falling grain, and for this purpose we provide acut-off or rod, l. Said cut-off is made in an angular form, (see Fig.1.,) and is pivoted at its opposite ends in arms J J, at a point orpoints in rear of and above the iinger-bar, and is provided at its innerend with a crank-arm, I', which has connected with it one end of apitman, the opposite end of which is connected with a bellcrank lever,K, the attachment of the pitman at either or both ends being such as toprovide for the adjustment of the throw of the bail-rod or cut-oft' I,as may be desired.

The construction of lever K is shown in Fig. 5, the lower horizontalarm, 7c, being forked, to adapt it to receive and be operated upon by acam-rod, L, attached to and turning with the inner platformbar or link,C. The crank-lever Kis pivoted in lugs or an upright, K', as shown inFig. l.

The operation ofthe cut-off is as follows: The platform being inposition represented in black lines, Fig. l, the bail or cut-off iselevated sufficiently high to allow the grain, as it is cut, to fallunderneath the same and upon the platform, without obstructiontherefrom. As the platform is swung away from the cutting apparatus todischarge its load, the cam-rod L acts upon the forked cranklever,throwing the upper end forward, and forces the rod or cut-off downwardand forward to a position (shown in the red lines, Fig. l) adapting itto receive and hold the grain until the return of the platform reversesthe movement of the crank-lever and raises the rod or cut-off, allowingthe cut grain accumulated thereon to fall upon the plat-form, which isagain in position to receive it.

By the construction and mode of operation described it will be seen thatthe first movement of the platform as it starts to discharge its load isdirectly backward from the cutting apparatus. This movement serves toremove it out of the way of obstruction from the falling grain and theplatform and cut-oft' supports. Simultaneously with this rst movement ofthe platform the cut-off is brought down and interposed to receive thefalling grain. The platform is then swung to the rear of the frame,maintaining its parallel relation to the cutting apparatus, is at thesame time raised out of the way of an VYthin 1 y would interfere withits freedom in tilting, andI isthen tilted to the rear on the hin ge orpivot, at right angles to the path of the machine, after which it isreturned to receive another gavel.

The iin ger-bar may be provided on its rear edge with a ledge or rib,which will hold the stub ends of the grain, and assist the eut-0E whilethe platform is removed, in a manner that will be readily understood.

Ne have shown our invention applied to that class or construction knownas the Ball7 machine, and all the parts are so arranged as to adapt themto conform freely to the movements of the hinged or iioating bar used insaid machine; but it will be apparent that our improvement may bereadily applied to any and all of the various constructions of -rigidand hinged bar machines in use without the aid of other than meremechanical skill to adapt them thereto.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A dumping-platform which is adapted to be' swung or vibrated in theare of a circle to a position behind the frame for discharging thegavel, while at the same time it preserves its parallelism with thefinger-bar.

\ 2. The tilting or dumping platform7 in combination with means foroperating the same, whereby said platform is adapted to be swung to aposition behind the main frame, and there tilted upon a pivot or hingeparallel with the platform, and at right angles to the path of themachine, as set forth.

3. The parallel arms or links C C., or their lof a circle, the center ofwhich is in rear of and below said cut-off, as described.

7. The inclined way or cani on the heel of the shoe or drag-bar forraising the platform as it is swung to the rear of the frame for thedischarge of the gavcl, substantially as described.

8. The angular extension of the platformarm C', or its equivalent,operating in combination with the platform, substantially as described.

9. The forked lever, or its equivalent, for

A operating the cnt-olf, in combination with the vibrating cam orcani-rod on the platform-arm G or platform, substantially as described.

10. `The combination of the swinging and tilting platform, cut-off, andmeans for operating the saine, substantially as described.

i A. L. PETERS. G. M. PETERS. Witnesses SYLvEsrnn E. Lreinfr, Cnnnnns L.Ecnnn'r, A. M. DUBoc, T. It. PETERS.

